Category Archives: Religion

Atheist Ireland attends OSCE human rights conference in Warsaw

By Michael Nugent | Published: September 27, 2011

Atheist Ireland chairperson Michael Nugent and Education Policy Officer Jane Donnelly are in Poland today for the OSCE Human Rights Conference on Human Rights. This is the first time an Irish atheist advocacy group has taken part in an OSCE event. We will highlight the need for a secular Irish Constitution, education system and laws where the state is neutral about religion and protects the equal right of each citizen to freedom of and from religion.

The OSCE is the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It includes 56 States from Europe, North America and Asia. Next year Ireland will chair the OSCE for the first time. This week’s conference in Warsaw is about how the OSCE States address human rights issues, and Atheist Ireland will take part in the session this morning on freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief.

Earlier this year, the World Atheist Convention in Dublin launched a new umbrella advocacy group called Atheist Alliance International, which we hope will be liaising with the OSCE on a regular basis in future years. Delegates at that Convention also debated and adopted the Dublin Declaration on Secularism and the Place of Religion in Public Life. Today we urge all OSCE States and NGOs to discuss, adopt and promote the principles in the Dublin Declaration on Secularism.

In particular, we urge the Irish State to hold referenda to remove the religious clauses of our Constitution, to establish a secular State education system that respects the human rights of all citizens, to replace religious oaths for officeholders and in courts with neutral declarations, and to repeal the Irish blasphemy law and the clauses that exempt religious organisations from complying with Irish equality laws.

Religious States promote religion. Atheist States promote atheism. We want a secular State, which promotes neither. We want a secular State for a pluralist people, where citizens behave ethically and the State does not take sides on religious issues.

Also posted in Atheism, Meetings, Secularism | Leave a comment

Dublin Declaration on Religion in Public Life – opinions welcome

By Michael Nugent | Published: June 1, 2011

This weekend, June 3-5, the World Atheist Convention will take place in Dublin. On Sunday we will discuss and adopt the Dublin Declaration on Religion in Public Life. This will be a follow-up to the Copenhagen Declaration that was adopted at last year’s convention in Denmark.

We will discuss two alternative formats for the Dublin Declaration. The first is an adaptation of the Copenhagen Declaration that addresses some ambiguities that existed within it, and the second is a rewrite from scratch proposed by Richard Green of Atheism UK.

Whether or not you are attending the Convention, we would be happy to hear your opinions on this, including suggestions for improving either version. If you comment on this post, we will try to incorporate your comments into the discussion of the Declaration.

Draft Declaration A

1. Personal Freedoms

(a) Freedom of conscience, religion and belief are unlimited. Freedom to practice religion should be limited only by the need to respect the rights of others.

(b) All people should be free to participate equally in public life, and should be treated equally before the law and in the democratic process.

(c) Freedom of expression should be limited only as prescribed in international law. All blasphemy laws should be repealed.

2. Secular Democracy

(a) Society should be based on democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Public policy should be formed by applying reason to evidence.

(b) Government should be secular. The state should be strictly neutral in matters of religion, favoring none and discriminating against none.

(c) Religions should have no special financial consideration in public life, such as tax-free status for religious activities, or grants to promote religion or run faith schools.

3. Secular Education

(a) State education should be secular. Children should be taught about the diversity of religious beliefs in an objective manner, with no faith formation in school hours.

(b) Children should be educated in critical thinking and the distinction between faith and reason as a guide to knowledge. Science should be taught free from religious interference.

4. One Law For All

(a) There should be one law for all, democratically decided and evenly enforced, with no jurisdiction for religious courts to settle civil matters or family disputes.

(b) The law should not criminalize private conduct that respects the rights of others because the doctrine of any religion deems such conduct to be immoral.

(c) Employers or social service providers with religious beliefs should not be allowed to discriminate on any grounds not essential to the job in question.

Draft Declaration B

1. No Divine Right

The sovereignty of the State is not derived from any God.

2. Secular State

(1) The Constitution must not contain any direct or indirect reference to any God, Faith or Religion.

(2) The Constitution and/or State Action must neither require nor prohibit Faith, Religion or the Manifestation of Religion.

(3) State Institutions must not include members of any Religion because of their membership of it.

(4) State Action must not be based upon any God, Faith or Religion.

(5) State Money must not be applied, directly or indirectly, to support, further, promote or advocate any Religion or the Manifestation of Religion as such.

(6) Faith or the Manifestation of Religion must not form any part of the Law.

(7) The Law must neither grant nor refuse any right, privilege, power or immunity, on the basis of Faith or Religion or the lack of either.

3. Education

(1) The Law must not require a State School to provide Religious Education.

(2) If a State School provides Religious Education, it must be Balanced Religious Education.

(3) A State School must not provide the Manifestation of Religion.

4. Blasphemy

The Law must not prohibit the denial (in whatever manner) of Faith or of the Manifestation of Religion.

5. Religious Codes

The Law must not recognise and State Institutions must not enforce any Religious Code.

6. Definitions

In this Declaration:-

“Balanced Religious Education” means Religious Education:-
(1) the subject matter of which is:-
(a) God, Faith or Religion in general; and
(b) the lack of Faith and Religion;
(2) which includes specific Gods or Religions only by way of example;
(3) which does not promote one God or Religion over another;
(4) which does not promote Faith or Religion over the lack of either.

“Constitution” means a State’s constitution, whether codified or not, and includes:-
(1) the constitutions of State Institutions;
(2) provisions as to the relationship between:-
(a) State Institutions;
(b) a State Institution and an individual,
including provisions for State Actions;

“Faith” means belief that God exists;

“God” means a super-empirical object or process;

“Law” means the law embodied in:-
(1) the Constitution;
(2) primary and secondary legislative acts; and
(3) judicial decisions;

“Manifestation of Religion” means the worship, teaching, practice or observance of any Religion;

“Religion” means a social system the members of which exhibit Faith;

“Religious Education” means education (whether by way of a discrete subject or as part of any other subject), the subject matter of which is God, Faith or Religion.

“Religious Code” means any code of which Faith or the Manifestation of Religion forms part;

“State” includes a supra-national organization;

“State Actions” includes:-
(1) primary and secondary legislative acts;
(2) judicial decisions; and
(3) administrative acts;

“State Institution” means the institutions comprising the State, including:-
(1) the head of state;
(2) the judiciary;
(3) the legislature;
(4) the executive; and
(5) institutions within or under them;

“State Money” means money which is the subject of the revenue and expenditure of the State;

“State School” means any school which is:-
(1) a State Institution;
(2) maintained by the State; or
(3) otherwise funded, wholly or partly, by State Money.

Also posted in Meetings, Secularism | 20 Comments

Bringing the Scientific Method to Magic Crackers

By nozzferrahhtoo | Published: February 9, 2011

I have long heard claims being made, specifically in the Catholic faith, that during certain ceremonies, when certain propitiations are made, that normal Cracker Bread is changed “literally” into the body of a long dead Jewish Human Male who displayed later Zombie tendencies to refuse to stay in the grave.

There are those of course that claim that the transformation is symbolic not literal, which I have not concerned myself with here as they are essentially saying nothing. I limit my inquiry only to those who claim a literal transformation.

I decide some time ago therefore to investigate over a 2 year period these claims. Since the results of this have been sitting on a shelf for some time I thought it useful to disseminate a short summary of my tests and summary of my results to the internet. The hope is that further testing can be suggested that I might have missed and which I can now take up the mantel again and continue to engage in.

Experimental setup:

As a setup I obtained “normal” and “consecrated” hosts in sufficient numbers and continued to do so over the 2 year period to make sure that I was working with both “fresh” and “dormant” samples. Both are surprisingly easy to obtain as those that have them seem keen to be rid of them.

As the transformation was meant to be into something resembling human flesh I, where possible, also used volunteer skin samples in my tests.

Blind experimentation:

To remove and risk of bias in the experiments I performed ALL experiments in the following fashion. I used 4 cracker samples in all cases.

Sample A: Chosen randomly by me from the “normal” pile.
Sample B: Chosen randomly by me from the “consecrated” pile.
Sample C: Chosen randomly by a third party from either pile without informing me which it was from.
Sample D: Chosen randomly by a third party from the other pile without informing me which it was from.
Sample E: Collection of random skin samples from human volunteers, myself included.

The order of the samples was then hidden and mixed from me by another separate party so that until the results were in I would not know if the results connected to samples A, B, C or D.

Sample summary of Experiments performed:

The samples were then subjected to many tests of which this is a random but not exhaustive sample list:

1 ) Burning tests, testing energy released in burning, burning time, change in mass of sample between before and after burning, color of flame (light wavelengths measured).
2 ) Chemical testing: Disolving in various chemicals and measuring energy releases, mass changes, chemical composition of diluted samples.
3 ) Degradation testing: Observing the differences in samples left to their own devices to measure differences in chemical breakdown due to food “going off” etc.
4 ) Luck testing: Engaged in various tests of luck in the presence of, or following the consumption of Samples from each group. Dice Games. Lottery Ticket use. Guessing Games and much more.
5 ) Emotional testing: Gauged personal subjective impression of mood changes in a group of volunteer subjects in the presence of, or following the consumption of, Samples from each group over 24 hour periods.
6 ) Priest testing: Proffered Samples to a selection of priests who were unable to identify which crackers were “normal” and which were “consecrated”.
7 ) Float testing: Tested the floating properties of each Sample.
8 ) Mass testing: Tested for differences in mass, density and other physical properties between samples, including aerodynamic abilities and resistance to physical stress such as piercing with nails (rusty and normal), tearing, toasting, hammering, bending, stamping and more. It has been suggested to me independently a number of times… seriously by those of a theistical bent, and jokingly by those who are not… that I rename this section the “Torture Testing”.

Summary of Results:

There was in ALL tests absolutely NO difference between the samples at any stage except for minute expected differences in mass between all samples (even internally among each sample group) which are within expected tolerances for normal human food manufacturing variances.

There was in ALL tests NO significant overlap of comparative results between any crackers and any human skin samples.

Conclusion:

There is no basis at this time apparent to support any claims that there is any form of “literal” transformation in the “consecrated” samples.

Further Study:

I still posses a number of samples of each time and am more than happy to engage in further testing should anyone manage to submit a test idea that I have not yet engaged in.

Also posted in Atheism, Blasphemy, Catholicism, Science | 23 Comments

Be Honest about Religion in the Irish Census on Sunday 10 April

By Michael Nugent | Published: January 13, 2011

Be Honest in the Census
Be Honest in the Irish Census on Sunday 10 April. Think before you tick your answer to the religion question, and give an answer that matches your actual religious affiliation. If you still believe in God but you are no longer truly a Roman Catholic, please say so. If you are an atheist or agnostic or humanist and you have no religion, please tick the ‘No Religion’ box.

Atheist Ireland wants to see accurate answers to the question on religion. The last Census showed 3.7 million Roman Catholics (that’s about 87% of the population) and 186,000 people with no religion (that’s about 4% of the population). We believe the true figure for Roman Catholics is much lower than 87%, and the true figure for people with no religion is much higher than 4%.

We believe that this inaccuracy happens because many people tick their childhood religion out of habit, or tick a religion that they don’t really practice, or let somebody else fill in the answer for them. But you won’t write in your childhood home address unless you still live there. So don’t write in your childhood religion unless you still really practice it.

Why is this important?

The Census results are used to predict future demand for State services such as schools and hospitals, and other policies. If we get a falsely very high figure for Roman Catholics, and a falsely very low figure for people with no religion, it makes it more likely that the State will discriminate against people of other religions and nonreligious people when providing these services.

Also, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin says that it “does not make use of baptismal registers for calculating the Catholic population of the Archdiocese of Dublin. It relies solely on the data from the Central Statistics Office, obtained through the census, by which citizens themselves choose to record, or not, their religious affiliation.”

So careless answers to the question of religion will have an impact on the allocation of State resources, and on the political lobbying power of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland. If you want a fair future based on accurate statistics, please answer this question honestly.

Honest to Godless
If you grew up as a Roman Catholic, and you still believe in God but you are no longer truly a Roman Catholic:

  • Please don’t tick a religion you don’t actually practice.
  • Please don’t tick your childhood religion out of habit.
  • Please don’t let someone else fill in your answer.
  • Please don’t ignore the question. Answer it honestly.

Instead, please answer whatever most accurately reflects your true religious affiliation. For example, you can write ‘Christian’ (or something else) in the ‘Other Religion’ box. Or you can tick the ‘No Religion’ box if you believe you are spiritual but not religious.

Obviously the same principles apply if you grew up as a member of any other religion that you no longer practice. We are focusing on Roman Catholicism because getting this figure accurate will have by far the most impact on the allocation of State services and other policies.

Please follow this link to see what the Census question will look like, and how the Roman Catholic figure has changed since the 1961 Census.

Honest to Godless
If you are an atheist or agnostic or humanist and you have no religion, please tick the box marked ‘No Religion’.

  • Please don’t tick a religion you don’t actually practice.
  • Please don’t tick your childhood religion out of habit.
  • Please don’t let someone else fill in your answer.
  • Please don’t write in ‘Atheist’. It’s not a religion.
  • Please don’t write in anything that’s not a religion.
  • Please don’t ignore the question. Answer it honestly.

Please follow this link to see what the Census question will look like, and how the ‘No Religion’ figure has changed since the 1961 Census.

Summary

Census figures for other religions may also be inaccurate in the Census, but the figures for ‘Roman Catholic’ and ‘No Religion’ are likely to have the most impact on the allocation of state services and other policies. They are the largest and second-largest answers for the religion question, and getting them right will have the most impact.

So be honest in the Irish Census on Sunday 10 April. Think before you tick your answer to the religion question, and give an answer that matches your actual religious affiliation. If you still believe in God but you are no longer a Roman Catholic, please say so. If you are an atheist or agnostic or humanist and you have no religion, please tick the ‘No Religion’ box.

What else can you do to help?

  • Please let us know if you would like to help in any way.
  • Please like whichever of the Facebook pages for the campaign that you identify with: Be Honest about Religion, Be Honest to God and Be Honest to Godless.
  • We’ll be running a wider publicity campaign closer to the Census date, and we’ll need help with that in different parts of the country.
  • If you are involved in any organisation that might support this campaign, please raise it at your next meeting.
  • If you have any imaginative ideas for spreading the word, or if you would like to donate any funding for this campaign, please let us know.
Also posted in Atheism, Census, Politics, Secularism | 24 Comments

Be Honest to God in the Irish Census on Sunday 10 April

By Michael Nugent | Published: January 13, 2011

Honest to God
If you grew up as a Roman Catholic, and you still believe in God but you are no longer truly a Roman Catholic, please be honest in the Irish Census on Sunday 10 April. Think before you tick your answer to the religion question, and give an answer that matches your actual religious affiliation.

What will the census question look like?


The question will look something like the extract above. If you’re not truly a Roman Catholic, we’re asking you to not tick box number 1, which says ‘Roman Catholic’. Instead please answer whatever most accurately reflects your true religious affiliation.

For example, you can either write ‘Christian’ (or something else) in box number 6, which says ‘Other: write in your RELIGION’. Or  you can tick box number 7, which says ‘No Religion’, if you believe you are spiritual but not religious.

Please remember that the Census is not a survey of theological beliefs. It is a measure of social changes, including in religious affiliation, to help plan the allocation of State services and other policies.

How many Irish people are Roman Catholic?

The figure for Roman Catholics has steadily dropped from 95% (in 1961), to 94% (in 1971), to 93% (in 1981), to 91% (in 1991), to 88% (in 2002) and 87% (in 2006). With even normal change, that figure should be lower now. And with the dramatic changes in Irish society since the last Census, the true figure may be much lower.

Just last year Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin said that Ireland “is undergoing a veritable revolution of its religious culture” but “many in Ireland and in the church in Ireland have not yet understood the full extent of the cultural change taking place and continue to act as if we were still simply living in a culture with a Catholic majority”.

We believe Archbishop Martin is correct about this. We hope that the Census results for 2011 will accurately reflect this. You can help to make this happen.

What else can you do to help?

Also posted in Census, Politics, Secularism | 6 Comments

European Atheist Conference in Dublin – June 2011

By Grania | Published: January 3, 2011

Atheist Ireland is proud to be hosting the 2011 Atheist Alliance International Conference in Europe.

We will keep you posted as soon as the full program and other details are confirmed.

Also posted in Atheism, Politics, Science, Secularism | 2 Comments

Teach, Don’t Preach: New Website Launched

By Michael Nugent | Published: January 2, 2011

Atheist Ireland has launched a new website as part of our campaign for a secular Irish education system based on human rights law.

http://teachdontpreach.ie includes information, resources and a discussion forum about secular education, and sample letters to help you to opt your child out of religious education classes in your current school. We would welcome any feedback on how it could be improved.

http://teachdontpreach.ie also contains a draft document in which our Education Officer Jane Donnelly argues that secular education is a human right, and that the Irish Government denies that right to its citizens. It covers the following issues:

1. Secular Education is a Human Right
2. Structure and Patronage
3. Access to a School of One’s Choice
4. Information and Knowledge Conveyed
5. Second Level Schools
6. Teacher Training
7. New VEC Community Schools
8. Child Sexual Abuse
9. Conclusion
10. Appendices

We will be sending the final version of this document later this month to the Irish Human Rights Commission, which is preparing recommendations for the Irish Government on the place of religion in education from a human rights perspective. The Commission has asked for the opinions of citizens and groups before 31 January 2011.

This is a lengthy document, but it is very important part of our campaign for a secular education system based on human rights law. Please let us know how you think it could be improved, and please also send a separate submission yourself to the Irish Human Rights Commission.

Also posted in Education | Leave a comment

Pope links atheism with Nazi Germany and lack of virtue

By Michael Nugent | Published: September 16, 2010

The Pope makes two scandalous comments in his opening speech in Britain: firstly, his attempt to blame atheism for the crimes of Nazi Germany, and secondly his inference that, if you do not want God or religion in public life, you also do not want virtue in public life.

On the first point, Hitler regularly proclaimed his belief in a god as justification for dehumanising Jews, as is clear from a cursory reading of Mein Kampf. This does not, of course, mean that religion, any more than atheism, is to blame for Nazi Germany.

If the Pope wants to find modern examples in Britain of people dehumanising other people, he might ask his colleague, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor, why he said last year on BBC Radio that atheists are not fully human.

On the second point, the Pope talks of “the exclusion of God, religion and virtue from public life” and links these very different concepts as if they were a single package.

God is a concept that exists in people’s minds. Everybody should have the right to freedom of religion and from religion, and the only way to protect all of these rights is for the State to stay neutral on such issues. And it is scandalous to imply that, if you do not want God or religion in public life, you also do not want virtue in public life.

Religious States promote religion. Atheist States promote atheism. Atheist Ireland wants a secular State, which promotes neither. We want a secular State for a pluralist people, where citizens behave ethically and the State does not take sides on religious issues.

Posted in Religion | 11 Comments

Clergy still managing to miss the point.

By nozzferrahhtoo | Published: July 30, 2010

The country’s men in dresses both North and South of the Border have continued to miss the point of the Nation’s and the World’s outrage over Child Sex Rape and Pederasty scandals in the Church in recent years.

Addressing parishioners and fellow clergy in Kilaloe today Bishop Willie assured his listeners that no abuse has occurred in his diocese for the last 20 years.

They still think it is just about the abuse don’t they? They still really do not get it.

No Willie, it is not just about the abuse, it is about the systematic cover ups that followed them to. The transfer of the perpetrators, the burying of documents, the use of intimidation and fear to silence the victims and more.

Does Willie want to stand before the nation and tell us none of THAT has been going on in his or any diocese in the last 20 years? In the last 5 even?

This week Donal McKeown came out at Knock to tell people that drunk adults are probably abusing drunk kids. He alas does not cite a single statistic for this but bases it entirely on the fact that…. adults get drunk…. kids get drunk…. and kids can not control themselves while drunk…. so adults MUST be abusing them.

“The actions of intoxicated adults and some young people’s own inability to have control of themselves would imply that many children are being physically, emotionally and sexually abused across this country on a daily basis — and especially at weekends,”

Trust a catholic Bishop to think that if a child is vulnerable, then SOMEONE has got to be abusing it. That is, after all, what vulnerable children are for right “Father”?

The icing on this particular cake comes when he adds:

“That is a national disgrace and we seem unable to acknowledge it”

Yes “Father” because acknowledging child abuse is something your career background and experience to date is known to illicit in your ilk huh? Maybe you should explain this one to Willie.

Posted in Religion | 2 Comments

Atheist Ireland Declaration on Religion in Public Life

By Atheist Ireland | Published: July 18, 2010

At our AGM last Saturday, Atheist Ireland adopted the following amended version of the Copenhagen Declaration on Religion in Public Life. The original version was written and adopted by delegates at the world atheist conference “Gods and Politics” held in Copenhagen from 18-20 June 2010.

This version is based on feedback on the original from various sources. It is written more concisely, clarifies some ambiguous phrases, and categorises the points into groups. Like the original, it is a starting point for discussion and not an unalterable set of principles.

Declaration on Religion in Public Life

We support this amended version of the Copenhagen Declaration on Religion in Public Life. We invite other people and groups to also support it.

Personal Freedoms

  • Freedom of conscience, religion and belief are unlimited. Freedom to practice religion should be limited only by the need to respect the rights of others.
  • All people should be free to participate equally in public life, and should be treated equally before the law and in the democratic process.
  • Freedom of expression should be limited only as prescribed in international law. All blasphemy laws should be repealed.

Secular Democracy

  • Society should be based on democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Public policy should be formed by applying reason to evidence.
  • Government should be secular. The state should be strictly neutral in matters of religion, favoring none and discriminating against none.
  • Religions should have no special financial consideration in public life, such as tax-free status for religious activities, or grants to promote religion or run faith schools.

Secular Education

  • State education should be secular. Children should be taught about the diversity of religious beliefs in an objective manner, with no faith formation in school hours.
  • Children should be educated in critical thinking and the distinction between faith and reason as a guide to knowledge. Science should be taught free from religious interference.

One Law For All

  • There should be one law for all, democratically decided and evenly enforced, with no jurisdiction for religious courts to settle civil matters or family disputes.
  • The law should not criminalize private conduct that respects the rights of others because the doctrine of any religion deems such conduct to be immoral.
  • Employers or social service providers with religious beliefs should not be allowed to discriminate on any grounds not essential to the job in question.
Also posted in Politics, Secularism | 3 Comments